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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Got a digicam, but how do I attach it to my scope?

I thought it would be a good idea to start a new thread specifically for adapting our cameras to our telescopes. I have moved certain posts from other posts to accomodate.

All types of connectors, adapters and techniques are welcomed!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

From Katodog:

As far as attaching the camera to the scope, I swear by my Digi-T ring. Unfortunately, Scoptronix is bye-bye. DBA Astronomy bought them, and now DBA has merged with Anttlers. I would expect that they would still carry the same products, but so far it looks like they don't have a firm grasp on their company yet.

I've seen that Lumicon and Orion have similar, Digi-T ring typpe accesories, but you'd have to get in touch with them to see what would fit your camera

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I have yet to attach the Canon to a telescope yet, but will utilize the proven techniques listed here. I used to take good shots with my old 35mm Nikon film camera, ( a lifetime ago), but I don't have the patience anymore to wait and see the results. And it was awfully heavy and would reek havok on the balance.

I just became the owner of a 8" Dob, (more on that later), but it should prove to be a great telephoto lens!

Kdog,

I might be able to make an adapter like yours in the workshop .

How about your camera...can you get pin point stars in your LCD screen?

Great advice from those who have gone before me.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

From Starbux:

I'm kinda against the idea of the T-ring for digital cameras. Wouldn't this mean that the camera's weight is beared by the lens assembly rather than the tripod socket area?

Unless the Canon has a provision for attaching a t-ring, I might think about it first, as I wouldn't want to risk damaging the lens mechanism.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

From Katodog:

The Digi-T ring I have screws into the adaptor on the camera. The lens is inside the adaptor, and doesn't bear any weight. The only issue I ever had with the weight was with the crappy diagonal that came with my AR6. The weight of my 32mm and the camera snapped the diagonal apart. That's when I bought a 2" diagoanl and threw the stock one in the garbage.

So far, every camera manufacturer I have looked at has some type of adaptor system to allow you to attach different lenses or accesories of some sort. The Digi-T rings and the like all work off of the camera's adaptor. The only adaptors I have seen that bear weight onto the lens itself are the ones that people have made out of pvc to slip over the lens. I have seen many examples of that and never heard of any problems.

The hard part is tracking down the correct ring size for the camera adaptor, and the corresponding ring that connects to the eyepiece. Now that Scopetronix is gone, the best avenue for getting the right T-ring is gone. Lumicon and Orion have T-rings, but I don't know if they have a wide enough assortment to cover most of the cameras that are out.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I just checked out the 360 view of the S3 on Canon's website, and I can't tell if the housing around the lens is detachable. With my camera, the lens has a threaded ring around it that an adaptor screws to. This allows you to attach different things like wide field or fish eye lenses.

I'm including pictures of my camera to show what I'm talking about. The adaptor came with the camera. I had to email Scopetronix to find out what ring would fit with it. They sent the outer ring that attaches to the camera adaptor, and the inner ring that attaches to the eyepiece.

This is the camera with the adaptor and outer ring on. The camera is off so the lens is retracted




This is the camera with the adaptor off to show the lens position when the camera is off.




Camera on, lens extended




The adaptor next to the camera. The adaptor screws to the camera and the lens is shrouded by it. The adaptor and the lens never touch.





Apologies for the crappy pics. I had to use my very old Panasonic digital. It's so old it's only got 810k pixels.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

From Starbux:

Well your shots should potentially be better than the earlier ones I took thru the Canon A510. I used this adapter sold by Scopestuff and others

Make sure your camera has enough clearance between the lens fully extended and the eyepiece. Scopetronix used to sell an extender plate, but they seem to be out of business. I used to use the Orion Steadypix bracket, but it was alot more fussy to use, but it does offer better clearance.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Malcolm,

Ooooh, I want this!

I can probably make up something in the workshop, but it looks like it will do the job nicely.

Is this what you are using for all your photographic sessions?

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

From Starbux:

Yes, that's the one. Scopestuff is a great company to buy from too. They'll send it to you and you'll have it in 2-3 days.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Kdog,

Thank you very much for taking the time to post pics of your camera and adapter mount...

I have a bayonet ring adapter mount that easily accepts accessories. It's a 52mm fit, and I thinking about getting the adapter tube and hood, a must for what I'm contemplating.

Info on an aftermarket lens adapter can be found here:

www.lensmateonline.com/newsite/S2.html

I have read that the Lensmate is superior to the Canon adapter, as it's all metal and not plastic like the Canon's.

[quiviran]

Hi Joe,

Just a data point. I have a Lensmate adapter for my S3. It is a well made piece of gear. I got it to mount wide-angle and tele adapters on the camera, and it is very good, IMO. As far as I can see, adapting to a telescope using the Lensmate would place no stress at all on the camera lens mechanism, and the camera is so light.

As you can see, this is my first post. Last Thursday my DW indicated she would like a telescope for her birthday. We are complete novices, so I've been reading web-sites madly to try to make a wise first purchase. One of my leanings would be to buy with astrophotography in mind as a future pursuit, so I'm reading your series with great interest. Our lifestyle is one that places a premium on compactness and ease of set-up and take-down. To quote another board "The best telescope is the one you actually use". This seems very wise to me but that discussion is for an different thread.

Great site. I'm sure I'll follow it closely, although I do tend to lurk far more than I post.

Larry

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Larry,

Thank you for your first post and interest in amateur astronomy & astrophotography.

I like my S3 a great deal, but with it's 15 sec max on exposure time, it limits serious astrophotography. But for what I desire, I think it will suit me fine.

As you have read in my other posts, I got the 58mm adapters for the S3. They work fine and hold my polarizer and UV filters. I read on a S3 forum, that another guy tried to get images from his S3 thru a telescope, but failed...too much vignetting. Let's see what I can come up with.

It's been too cold for experimentation on adapters and telescope hookups, but the warm weather is flirting with us and soon, I'll be spending good trial and error time.

Let us know which telescopes you have narrowed down to and we can provide our opinions...and post your Canon Powershot S3 experiences here as well. I would be interested to read about them.

[katodog]

Joe, you keep talking about your camera, but we don' see any astro pics being taken by you. If the rest of us can brave the cold for a few minute, so can you.

And you say 15 seconds exposure limit real astro photography, look what can be done with only 2 second exposures...











M42 picture taken last night with the Meade LXD75 AR6-AT, Fuji S5000 DSLR, a 14mm ED eyepiece, 2 second exposure, ISO400, f3.2, with around 8x optical zoom. A stack of 14 jpegs.

Saturn was with the same equipment, but a different exposure setting. I don't recall what the setting was. Optically zoomed about 3x.

[ChrisC]

I am so confused. All I want to do is attach my Canon S3 to my telescope to get some shots of the moon. I have the lens adaptor for the S3, but I'll be darned if I can figure out how to get to the telescope. All the talk of T-mounts is depressingly generic and vague. Even the telescope manufacturer's site (Orion) is vague! Where are the details??? My kingdom to anyone who can help!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Chris,

I have had great results attaching my Canon S3 to the scope...with the proper adapter.

I have used two different adapters:

astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ps3&action=display&thread=1286

This one, the S3 adapter screws onto the T- mount adapter...which screwed into a threaded eyepiece. Works well, but one needs a threaded eyepiece - a Scopetrontics in this case.


A fellow Chicago Astronomer got this for me from China...

astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=ps3&thread=2540

I like this one better, as one can use it on practically any eyepiece. It screws onto the S3 lens adapter...and then the eyepiece slips simply into the mount...using the three set screws to latch on to the eyepiece. It was an Ebay buy I think...and is just called a "58mm to 1.25 T-Ring Adapter ".

I can use both the main tube or the 60mm finder scope, but prefer the finder for lunar shots. Using the main scope/camera configuration provides too much magnification despite the eyepiece installed.

If you are interested, I can ask him about the details on this adapter mount.

[erick]

I came across this old thread and was interested in finding a 58mm to 1.25 T-Ring Adapter as pictured below. I have a Canon S3IS with the adapter but I can't find a 58mm to 1.25 T-Ring Adapter anywhere....
HELP!!!!!!!
EricK